Thermometry apparatus are known in the field, such as those that are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,632,555, 6,000,846, and 6,036,361, for measuring the temperature of a patient at a body site including the axilla, the mouth or other body cavity. In these references, an elongate probe having a distally positioned temperature responsive element, such as, for example, a thermistor, is used to measure patient body temperature through direct placement of the probe at the body site. The probe is tethered to a housing that includes internally disposed processing circuitry for processing a signal from the temperature responsive element of the elongate probe. The resulting processed temperature signal is subsequently outputted onto a display that is located on a front face side of the housing adjacent a user interface, the interface including a series of user actuable buttons for controlling other features of the thermometry apparatus.
Typically and to avoid contamination of the remainder of the housing, the elongate probe is stored within the housing, when not in use, and more particularly within the confines of a hollow isolation chamber, also referred to commonly as a probe well, such as that as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,008,614. The isolation chamber can be releasably attached relative to a cavity formed in the housing, the chamber preferably having a fluid tight seal in order to prevent contaminants from the elongate probe from reaching the contained resident processing circuitry.
The design of the probe well is often made so as to streamline the appearance of the thermometry housing. As a result, it is possible that a user could inadvertently insert a probe into the housing cavity without an isolation chamber first being attached. Contamination and reduced life of the apparatus are likely results.